United builds 787 routes

While a lot has been going wrong for United recently, on the positive side is the steady roll out of their 787 Dreamliners and their future planned destinations which have been steadily announced. The airline now has 22 of the 55 Dreamliners they have ordered.

The Dreamliner’s ten destinations from San Francisco International are now:

Great Circle Map: Featured Map for 10 October 2015: the most recently announced flights are in green

The airline is deploying the 787 on its longest flights which means they have a massive fuel saving potential.

A by product of this deployment is that international flights from United’s SFO hub will be largely their best product. All flights to Australia and New Zealand will be utilising the Dreamliner. As someone who used to complain about their fairly sub-standard ageing 747 based product to and from “down under” this is great news.

Meanwhile down in Los Angeles, United will be connecting five destinations with the City of Angels

London Heathrow –April 2016 where it will be competing with British Airway’s 380 and Air New Zealand’s current 777 service.

United also has a Denver – Tokyo Narita service. Flying internationally into Denver and connecting to a domestic flight is a much nicer experience than Los Angeles and I would preference this option anytime.

Over at their Houston hub:

Amsterdam – December 2015 (787-9)

Buenos Aires – October 2015 (787-9)

Frankfurt (Commenced) (787-9) where they are competing with Star Alliance partner Lufthansa’s 380. On this route, I would go with LH!